(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

An African militia has a new leader—and Tom Gray has a deadly new problem.
Da Sunan Annabi has a ruthless new leader whose aim is to train British nationals to bring England to its knees.
As their plans unfold with deadly precision and Britain is crippled by a series of attacks, the government is forced to deploy its new secret weapon: a surveillance network that can spy on nearly every human being on earth. It is nearly foolproof—but is it ethical? And does that even matter now?
Soon, Tom Gray and his daughter are in the militia’s sights, and their lives depend on Gray finding the man behind the recent atrocities. His desperate search leads him to Africa and Cuba, for a final showdown with an enemy he could never have imagined.

*3.5 stars*

This is the 5th book in the Tom Gray series, but the first that I have read. I don't really think you need to have read the previous ones to understand what is going on here.

First off, let me say what a very cool concept this novel was. From the digital warfare, to the African militia and beyond, this book had enough different aspects to make an action/thriller fan very happy. The idea of Britain having the ability to spy on every single person in the world is scary as anything, and the militia were just downright frightening. The atrocities carried out in their name were chilling.

As for the characters, Tom is a decent guy - a little over-the-top protective of his daughter (and the reader does get that a lot) but very well-meaning. He also happens to be a tough-as-nails fighter and will do anything he can to bring this militia (and those within it) to its knees. However, at times, I just find he is just a little TOO perfect for the situation and the believability drops just a notch.

Overall, the action was patchy for me - the good was REALLY good, but there were times when I felt that the flow of the story just wasn't quite right. About 2/3 of the way through the book, I started to get - I won't say bored - but, distracted by external things because the plot had slowed down so much. I realise why it did that, and the build back up for the finale was great, but it just sorted fizzed for a little while. That's why it got 3.5 stars...

Overall, though, a great story and I will definitely be going to find the first few books in this series...


Paul
ARH